Gov’t, MILF disagree on disarming rebels

From the Manila Times (Oct 17): Gov’t, MILF disagree on disarming rebels

While the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has announced that its members will not lay down arms before the peace agreement is concluded, the government on Tuesday maintained that all weapons should be decommissioned even before the implementation of the peace pact. “The normalization process will be done in phases and we will see gradual and steady decommissioning taking place. Thus, even before the implementation of the agreement, arms will be put beyond use,” Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Teresita Deles said. But Mohagher Iqbal, the chairman of the peace-negotiating panel of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said on Monday that his group would not lay down its weapons until a final peace accord is in place. The laying down of arms is in the last stage of the implementation of the agreement. The Framework Agreement signed on Monday by the government and the MILF provides that the latter will “undertake a graduated program for decommissioning of its forces so that they are put beyond use.” In turn, the government agreed to “a phased and gradual” transfer of law enforcement functions from the Armed Forces of the Philippines to a Bangsamoro police force....

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